contact May 29th, 2008
“The federal government is secretly negotiating an agreement to revamp international copyright laws which could make the information on Canadian iPods, laptop computers or other personal electronic devices illegal and greatly increase the difficulty of travelling with such devices.”
[via]
contact May 24th, 2008
The producer of Uranium says uranium “might have” leaked into Lake Ontario. We know that really means uranium “definitely without a doubt leaked” into Lake Ontario.
From the nyt:
“OTTAWA — Cameco, the world’s largest uranium producer, has told the Canadian nuclear regulator that its refinery might have leaked uranium, arsenic and fluorides into Lake Ontario.
A section of the Port Hope, Ontario, plant of Cameco, the world’s largest uranium producer.
The plant at Port Hope, Ontario, across the lake from Rochester and down the shore from Toronto, first refined uranium for the Manhattan Project during World War II. It has been temporarily closed since July to remove contaminated soil.
A spokesman for Cameco, Lyle Krahn, said Wednesday that a computer model created for the cleanup, which is several months behind schedule, indicated that the radioactive and toxic materials have been polluting a harbor adjacent to the factory. The harbor leads directly to the lake.
The company notified the regulatory agency, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, about the finding at a meeting last week and now plans drilling tests to confirm the contamination and to measure its extent.
“We’re anticipating that material may have been entering the harbor,” Mr. Krahn said, adding that Cameco did not know how long it would take to confirm any possible pollution.
A spokesman for the agency, Aurèle Gervais, said: “The Port Hope UF6 plant matter has been ongoing for some time and the harbor issue is a recent development,” using the chemical formula for uranium hexafluoride.
In a background paper prepared for the agency’s commissioners last week, its staff concluded that the potential remained for continued water pollution from the plant.
Cameco in general and the aging Port Hope refinery, which transforms mined uranium into forms suitable for electrical power reactors, have long been targets of environmental groups and the regulatory agency.
After a flood last year closed one of the company’s mines, which produces about 10 percent of the world’s uranium, Linda J. Keen, then the head of the regulatory agency, said her commissioners and staff had a “lack of confidence” in Cameco and its management…”
contact May 13th, 2008
Finding good quality tea is not really that easy these days but you’ll be happy to know that you can find Tea in the Sahara here in Toronto!
Downtown Toronto
889
889 Yonge Street
Toronto, ON M4W 2H2
416 925 7206
A Taste Above
74 Richmond Street East
Toronto, ON M5C 1P1
416 203 0396
www.atasteabove.com
Cafe 260
260 Richmond St. East
Toronto, ON M5A 1P4
416-368-9222
Celestin
623 Mt. Pleasant Rd
Toronto, ON M4S 2M9
416 544 1733
The Cheese Boutique
45 Ripley Avenue
Toronto, ON M6S 3P2
(416) 762-6292
The Chiropractic and Health Associates Clinic
1407 Yonge St. Suite 400
Toronto, ON M4T 1Y7
416-924-0777
Divine Scents
151 Harbord Street
Toronto, ON M5S 1H1
416 962 0000
Elixir Organic Spa
766 King Street West, Unit 5
Toronto, ON M5V 1N6
416-203-5261
Flow Nail Spa
753 Queen Street West
Toronto, ON M6J 1G1
416 910 2827
Hammam Spa
602 King Street West
Toronto, ON M5V 1M6
416-366-4775
Kahawa Coffeehouse
Nairesiae Kipusi
388 College St
Toronto, M5T 1S7
Lileo
55 Mill Street – Building 35
Toronto, ON M5A 3C4
416 413 1410
The Mercantile
626 College Street
Toronto, ON M6G 1B4
416 531 7563
Niche Coffee & Tea Company
626 Queen Street West
Toronto, ON M6J 1E4
416-203-0458
The Outer Layer
577 Queen Street West
Toronto, ON M5V 2B6
416 869 9889
The Outer Layer
430 Bloor Street West
Toronto, ON M5S 1X5
416 324 8333
Pure Intent
64 Oxford Street 2nd Floor
Kensington Market
Toronto, ON M5T 1P1
416 466 3237
Red Rocket Cafe
1402B Queen Street East
Toronto, ON M4L 1C9
647-889-2338
Satori Urban Wellness
33 Hazleton Avenue
Toronto, ON M5R 2E3
416-972-9355
Shizen Spa
8 Colbourne Street, 4th Floor
Toronto, ON M5E 1E1
416 350 2424
Summerhill Market
446 Summerhill Avenue
Toronto, ON M4W 2E4
416 921 2714
Upper Village Spa
1112 Eglinton Ave. West
Toronto, ON M6C 2E2
416-782-1539
Verity Spa
111 Queen St E
Toronto, ON M5C 1S2
416-368-6006
Vika Spa
88 Avenue Road
Toronto, ON M5R 2H2
416 929 5509
Water Lily
1984 Yonge Street
Toronto, ON M4S 1Z7
416 488 4387
North Toronto
Galati Market Fresh
5845 Leslie Street
North York, ON M3H 1J8
416 756-2000
Two Blonds & a Brunette Gift Co.
46 Glen Echo Road, 2nd Floor
Toronto, On M4N 2E3
647 343-3446
West Toronto
Agora
3015 Dundas Street West
Toronto, ON
416-761-9991
Balance Integrated Health
24b Liberty Street
Toronto, ON M4K 1A5
416 588 8282
Peach Tree
2239 Bloor Street West
Toronto, ON M6S 1N7
416-913-4466
East Toronto
Dark Horse Espresso Bar
682 Queen Street East
Toronto, ON M4M 1G9
647-436-3460
Dash Kitchen
236 Danforth Avenue
Toronto, ON M4K 1N2
416 463 3274
Leslieville Cheese Market
891 Queen Street East
Toronto, ON M4M 1J4
416 465 7143
contact May 9th, 2008
From mcleans:
They came from China and England, from India and Mexico — 94 people of every age and race, from 13 countries in all. They arrived this crisp autumn morning at an imposing new office complex in Surrey, B.C., filling neat rows of folding chairs in a second-floor courtroom, Citizenship Judge Shinder Purewal presiding. The judge is a cheerful man in a happy job. He told them about some of his own experiences: the murder of his father when he was an infant, and how he arrived in Canada from India as a 17-year-old because his mother wanted to raise her family in a land of peace and security. Purewal, also a political science professor, told them how difficult it is to move to a country where you don’t speak the language or understand the culture. Give it time, he urged them, and Canada will exceed your expectations. He told them how he built a new life in Canada and earned a Ph.D., and how this country — ranked best in the world, he said — has much to offer them as well. “What makes this country great,” he said, “is your presence.”
They stood and raised their right hands — a little girl with bouncing pigtails and a pink coat, a dignified older man with a flowing white beard and a saffron turban, and all the rest — and they recited the oath of citizenship in halting French. “Now you are 50 per cent Canadian,” joked the judge. Then they recited the pledge again in English. Now you are 100 per cent Canadian, he said. They applauded. Friends took photos. And just before 10 a.m. on Nov. 13, the country gained 94 new citizens, with 94 sets of hopes and dreams and plans.
It was a beautiful thing to see. A visitor to the ceremony couldn’t…”
contact May 5th, 2008
You gotta love a dentist with a sense of humor. Let’s hope, however, he’s not like Steve Martin in Little Shop of Horrors
Dr. Arthur Dunec
1910 Yonge Street
Toronto, ON M4S 3B2
416-485-4433
[via]
contact May 4th, 2008
From msn.ca:
“Canada cannot remain immune to the skyrocketing food prices that already affect much of the world and it may be only a matter of months before the impact here has a major impact on the economy, says a new report from Bank of Nova Scotia.
Except for baked goods, Canada been mostly spared the price spikes in basic foods that has roiled the developing world and even caused two major food retailers in the United States to ration some types of rice as a “precaution” against hoarding.
Because most agricultural commodities like grain, fuel and fertilizer are priced in U.S. dollars, the stronger loonie has cushioned Canadians from many of these shocks. Consumers have also benefited from stiff competition among grocery chains.
“But I don’t think Canada can escape the sort of food pass-through that has been going on in the global economy indefinitely,” says Derek Holt, vice-president at Scotia Capital Economics, who wrote the report.
“This is the year it starts to catch up to Canada. We’ve already started to see in some key categories and that will intensify in the summer months.”
Scotiabank’s warning is the latest in several issued recently by Canadian businesses and international agencies.
The United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization reports that global food prices have increased 57 per cent from last year, while the price of rice has doubled.
Meanwhile, the World Bank has forecast the higher prices are likely to last at least two years before moderating slightly.
Holt said that Canadian spending habits could change profoundly once food prices begin rising, along with higher gasoline and heating prices that have already hit Canada.
“It’s a very material risk that people will start seeing themselves having to spend dozens or hundreds of dollars a month more on basic groceries, home heating and gasoline costs,” Holt says.
“You’ve got to do something, so you start to rein in spending on everything else and you postpone plans buy that HD television, or build a backyard deck.”
Several analysts have also forecast that Canada’s holiday from food price shock will not last forever.
But where Holt’s analysis differs from others is that he believes the likely impact will not be higher inflation, but lower prices for everything except food and energy.
Holt argues that sky-high energy and food prices could actually be disinflationary for Canada because consumers will have less to spend on everything else.
“That becomes a very dangerous scenario where you can have some sectors doing very well, food and energy, but other sectors see their pricing power totally evaporate,” Holt said.
While low inflation is generally regarded as a good thing, disinflation could trigger an economic slump because it may result in consumers and businesses holding back on purchases and investments in expectations of lower prices down the road.
“I think rationing in food is a possibility,” he said. “But an even bigger danger is that we go back to the days when we thought price and wage controls were a smart thing, this time applied to a particular sectors.”
One encouraging development is that farmers have begun to switch to cash crops to take advantage of the higher prices, but Holt said it will likely take three to four years before the higher production is felt in the market.”
